The Common Linnets

The Common Linnets are a Dutch band that was formed in 2013. The band originally consisted of Ilse DeLange and Waylon. DeLange has stated that the group is a platform for Dutch artists to make country, Americana, and bluegrass music, and that the members will be changing. In May 2014, Waylon left the group and was replaced by American country singer Jake Etheridge. Their song "Calm After the Storm", which is on their self-titled debut album, reached second place in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 and gave the Netherlands its best result since its last winning entry in 1975. Name Ilse de Lange and Waylon are both from the eastern part of the Netherlands. In Dutch, people from this region are sometimes called heikneuters, referring to the songbird kneu or common linnet. The name for the band is an idea from Dutch designer Rens Dekker, who is also responsible for the artwork design of their single and self-titled album. Members The band was originally composed of individual country artists Ilse DeLange and Waylon. However, Waylon stated that the band was created by Ilse and that she is, at the moment, the main leader. Ilse said that she created the band as a project or a "platform" for Dutch artists to make country, Americana or bluegrass music. Both artists stated that both artists can "be replaced" by other musicians. Since May 2014 the band consists of Ilse DeLange, JB Meijers, Jake Etheridge and Matthew Crosby, the writers, along with Rob Crosby, of the hit song "Calm After The Storm").